PARLIAMENTARY AMENITIES IN SYDNEY.

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume XIII, Issue 83, 6 April 1878, Page 4

PARLIAMENTARY AMENITIES IN SYDNEY.

The Sydney Morning Herald reports the following as having occurred in the Legislative Aesembly : — Mr Speaker said : I feel compelled to call the attention of the House to a matter which occurred this evening. Were it not that the letters I am about to read are addressed to me as Speaker ot this House. 1 9hould take do notice of them, because it would be giving the writer too much prominence, I am taking the course I am now doing as they are addressed to fae as Speaker, and I feel it is necessary that I should read them to the House that they may see the insult that has been perpetrated upon the Speuker of the Assembly. The first letter is addrbssed from 156 Pitt-street :•— " Mr Campbell, editor and proprietor of the weekly Wasp, respectfully requests the Speaker to grant him a permanent pass to the reporters' gallery, to enable him to watch and report from time to time any proceedings in the House which Mr Campbell may feel inclined to bring under public notice." This letter was brought to me while this House waß busilyengaged in business, and I could not then attend to it. I received no intimation that Mr Compbell was in attendance, nor was any verbal message brought to me, as stated in tha next letter. But as soon as I left the chair I replied as lollows :—" The limited space in the reporters' gallery renders it inadvisable (o extend the existing arrangements for admission of reporters. Mr Campbell con receive a card to the Speaker's gallery on application." This letter I gave to the clerk to send as a reply, but before it waa sent I received the following :— "To the Honorable the Speaker, Sir, — I wrote you a respectful note this evening, asking you for a permanent free pass to the reporters' gallery. You rudely kept me waiting an unreasonably long time, and I sent in a verbal message pressing, for an answer. To this you made no reply. One of the attendants jeered at me asking me if I had asked you for anything. I left disgusted both with you and him 1 I shall bring your own conduct and his under the uoiice of the House, and expose you both by inserting in the Wasp a caustic leader— (luughter)— on the subject in a few days, beaded, 'Tyranny and snobbery Jq high places.' (Renewed laughter.) I am, yours obediently, P. Campbell, proprietor and editor of the Wasp, a wetk y publication (of which I sent you a copy a few i^ays ago). 1/56 Pittatreet, Sydney, M-irch 5, 1878." Mr. Cameron : la that Peter Campbell the Gospel-grinder? (Continued laughter). Mr. Speaker : lam not aware who Peter Campbell is. I simply read the letters to the House because I felt compelled to draw the attention of the House to the insult to me as Speaker. (Hear, hear). I Mr. Earnell said no doubt these letters were an insult to the House. (Hear, hear.) But unfortunately they had no privilege to deal with a gentleman such as Peter Campbell, The only thing he could see for the speaker to do waß this — to refuse admission to the reporters' gallery. He thought after the letter to the Speaker — the threatening letter, he might say, in reference to writing some leading articles, whatever it might be worth — the Speaker ought to exercise his privilege in preventing him from taking his place iv the Speaker's gallery. The only other place would be the strangers' gallery, and Mr. Campbell would be restricted from that by hon. members not giving him a ticket for it. (Hear, hear.) It would not be right in reference to this gentleman, if he is a gentleman, that all strangers should be excluded to punish a gentleman of this kind. Therefore, if the Speaker would exercise fais right to exclude him from the Speaker's gallery and the reporters' gallery, it would then rest with hon. members themselves. As they had no privileges, he thought the matter must rest there ; but the Speaker waa quite right in informing the House of the matter. Ifc was an insult to the House. (Hear, hear.)